This is quite a sensitive one for me. Hair loss was something that I suffered with in silence with for several months until I was finally diagnosed with PCOS and dedicated everything I could to healing myself naturally, and I know this is a similar story for so many others too.
As I have mentioned before, the main 'physical' symptom that I faced after coming off the pill (and not having been diagnosed with PCOS yet) was the horrible cystic acne I suffered ( It was so bad that I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror, let alone go out in public - which is not ideal when you run your own businesses and model!) But another physical symptom that I haven’t really touched on yet was the humiliating hair loss.
I am going to start off by saying, my hair is a BIG part of who I am.
It’s thick, wavy, dark blonde and a bit wild - which quite often gets reffered to as 'my mane' lol! My hair has always been something people have commented and that I have been proud of.
Apart from how it looked, my hair was also my security blanket. I know that probably sounds strange, but it’s true, and perhaps some of you can relate to that too?
My hair became particularly important to me when my skin started to break out in hormonal acne (after coming off the pill and having PCOS), and I would use my hair as a distraction to take the focus away from the acne on my face because I was so conscious of my inflamed skin. It also helped me to hide the acne on my neck and back.
That was until my hair started falling out, and I’m not talking a few strands, I am by the HANDFUL . I remember standing in the shower washing my hair and just seeing clumps of hair falling out. It was terrifying and I was beyond DEVASTATED.
I spent the next six months trying to deal with my hair loss, so between that and the acne, myself esteem became so low it sent me into a deep hole of anxiety and sadness.
Experts suggest that HALF of all women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) go undiagnosed, yet this condition can contribute to a range of symptoms, one of the most distressing of which is hair loss. As you may be aware, PCOS can cause your body to become resistant to the action of insulin (which regulates your sugar levels).
To compensate, your body starts producing even MORE insulin, this then leads to the production of excess testosterone, which then results in your androgen levels becoming too high. High levels of androgen levels can cause hair loss from the scalp, AND it can also cause hair growth, but in places, you don’t want (such as the face, breasts and stomach etc.) which is known as hirsutism - another very common PCOS symptoms.
I personally experienced both extreme hair loss and some extra hair growth on my face and my upper legs/ stomach.
SO how does hair loss actually happen?
Well to put it simply, if there is too much testosterone in your body, then your body converts it to something called DHT. DHT causes the hair follicles to shrink, which means that new hairs become finer and finer, and eventually stop growing altogether... and just like magic, the hair loss begins!! Ohhhh the joys of PCOS!!
OK, so now you know why it happens, how did I reverse it?
Let get into it:
1. Diet and Inflammatory foods
- Try a plant-based diet, otherwise known as a vegan diet. Plant-based diets automatically cut out one of the biggest causes of inflammation.
- Animal products.
If you think cutting everything out cold turkey sounds too much, just try to do it in stages. If you have to focus on cutting out one product, then dairy is your guy!!! Dairy is packed with inflammation-causing toxins and also really messes with your hormones (which, let’s face it, is already messed up enough haha!!).
- Cut out processed foods!!!
This one can be tricky, especially if you have decided to try a plant-based diet and are looking for substitutes. When in doubt, stick to foods that are in their natural form (all of the vegetables haha!)
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake and up your fats.
Carbs turn to sugars (which mess with your insulin levels), and fats are vital to helping grow healthy hair. A lot of people are scared to add more fat to their diets but as long as you reduce your refined carbs and sugars theres no reason you will gain weight (in fact, you may have heard of the 'ketosis' which is where you reduce your carb intake, so your body will go into ketosis and starts burning fat as it’s primary energy source so you may find you lose weight! )
- Cut out gluten
Gluten might not affect everyone, but cutting out gluten not only improved my skin and hair, but I also starting getting periods again. It’s hard to say if I have an intolerance to gluten or am just sensitive to it, but either way gluten is well documented for its inflammatory properties so it’s something I would definitely steer away from as much as possible. I have found over time my body can now tolerate high quality sourdough bread quite well in small amounts- so this maybe an option of for you too!
2. Herbs and supplements
One thing that I truly believe made a huge improvement to my PCOS symptoms (including my hair loss) was including the right herbs and supplements into my diet, something I never
When my hair loss become really bad I was given soooo many different herbs to try from my naturopath and TCM practitioner. With in a few months of starting the herbs I started to know my hair loss was stopping.
It was really important for me to create one simple source of all the incredible hormone balancing herbs (in the correct ratios) that worked so well for me into one blend- so that I didn't have to keep taking/ weighing out so many individual herbs everydayI (it was becoming VERY time consuming and expensive!)
I started to get so many question about the tea I was making, that it lead me to start working with a naturopath and herbalist to package it all up and make it available for you guys too! And thats how Cysterhood tea was born!
Cysterhood tea has now helped THOUSANDS of women with their hormonal imbalances including symptoms such as hair loss, acne, hirsutism, weight gain, PMS, cramps, menstrual cycle regularities and even infertilty.
You can find out all the herbs that are in Cysterhood tea here
The only herb on this I choose to leave out of Cysterhood tea was Vitex( sometimes known as chaste tree berry) as many women have reported having adverse reactions to it, and in some cases have caused their PCOS symptoms worsen.
I have done an entire blog post on the supplements I have taken throughout my journey here, but a couple of my faves for hair loss in particular are:
- Zinc
- B12
- Inositol
- Ashwagandha (also found in our best selling ZENHOOD tea
If you are unsure about what supplements you should be taking, I would recommend seeing a health professional to help guide you with this.
*UPDATE Cysterhood tea is now available and has been specifically designed to help with many PCOS symptoms that I personally suffered from, including hair loss.
Find out more about Cysterhood Tea here
3. Acupuncture and Red Light Therapy for hair loss
Acupuncture: This might seem a bit alternative for some people, but acupuncture and red light therapy is something I believed worked really well for me. The basis of Chinese medicine is that healthy hair relies on a good flow of qi and blood to nourish the scalp. This flow and be interrupted by deficiencies or stagnation - which can mean that insufficient nourishment reaches the scalp.
It is believed that acupuncture can improve the flow of qi and blood in the scalp and can help hair to regrow.
Note- You will need to find a qualified TCM doctor or practitioner to treat you for hair loss.
Red light therapy: Red light therapy helps hair loss by repairing cells and promoting regeneration and hair growth. It works in a few different way, firstly by accessing the mitochondria and stimulating fast hair cell repair and growth. It also helps to promote blood flow and circulation to the scalp and hair follicles which strengthens hair, and it helps reduce and prevent scalp inflammation which can hinder hair growth.
Red light therapy is something you can do at home (you just need to purchase a red light device and there seems to be plenty on the market!) and has no side effects and completely safe and painless.
4. Lifestyle
Although diet is crucial to reversing PCOS hair loss, you will also need to take a look at other aspects of your life that might be causing inflammation and excess androgens.Here are my top lifestyle factors that can flare up PCOS symptoms:
– High stress (This may be from work, relationships, financial issues, your appearance, trying to conceive etc.) For me, I found having hair loss and acne actually caused my stress to worsen, so as you can see its a vicious cycle unless you know how to manage it.
– Too much medium-high intensity exercise. I now focus on walking twice a day with my dogs, pilates, yoga, horse riding and surfing. All the exercise I do now are things I enjoy and also help to decrease my stress without causing more stress on my body. Try to stay away from intense activities like spin classes etc.
– Poor gut health. Another big one, especially if you take antibiotics or other prescription drugs. Focus on adding fermented foods and take a probiotic if needed. I am a big fan of apple cider vinegar and kombucha for gut health.
– Environmental toxins (such as BPA from plastics) I recently did a HUGE kitchen renovation and when I restocked my pantry I moved everything to glass containers instead of plastic. You should also switch your drink bottle to glass or metal to avoid toxins from plastic.
I know you have probably read all of that and are now feeling a little bit inundated with the amount of information, but at the end of the day, it is very simple- evaluate your diet and lifestyle factors and look at different herbs and supplements you might be able to include.I was so determined to heal myself that having to give up some foods and change my lifestyle really didn’t bother me at all - I was at the point where I would do ANYTHING if it meant I would see results.
I am sooooooo happy I did stick with it because the results speak for themselves.
It’s important to remember that the physical symptoms of PCOS are your body’s way of trying to tell you something is imbalanced or not right.
It is YOUR job to listen to your body and find out what it needs so that it can do its job properly.
xxx Brig
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